To the Best Dad Ever!

I made a slide show for Rodger for Fathers Day...it's a little long but for the 3 people who read my blog I don't think you will mind! Enjoy!

http://www.kizoa.com/slideshow/d1786298k1231560o1/happy-fathers-day

We love you Daddy! We hope you have a really great day!

Insect Carnival

At the beginning of the month Macey and her 1st grade class had their Insect Carnival. It was a show with music, cute kids and a lot of smiles! Macey did such a great job! She followed along and sang so beautifully! I love to see this sweet girl do so well! She was seriously smiling the whole night. During the year at school they made their tie-dyed shirts so everyone matched, and they turned out so cute! Here are some pictures from the evening... Macey and her teacher Mrs. Wald
Some of the first grade class...can you find Macey?

Macey singing her heart out!

I love to see her smile...she is such a cute girl!

Macey, you did such a great job! I loved to hear you sing and watch you have so much fun! You are a shining star!

I Can Hardly Believe It...

I am the mommy to a 12 year old! It's so crazy! But I am one lucky momma. She is one great girl! I have said this before, but if I could have a million Abby's, I would have more kids. They all didn't end up like her.:)Although, I do love all of my kiddos! Abby sure is one of a kind...pics from today...

Dear Abby,

Boy, I can't believe you are already 12. You are the most incredible little person. You are growing up to be such a great young woman. You are the kindest, most thoughtful, gentle sister and daughter. You help me so much with your sisters and you have such a loving heart. Thank you so much for being you. I just want to let you know how much I love you and how much I appreciate you! I hope that you had the best birthday ever! You deserve such great things! I love you so so much Abby! Happy Birthday!

Love, Mom

I Love Good Teachers

My kids have been to a few different schools in their little lives. Some were better then others. We have been able to be in different states and different areas within those states. Yea, we have moved quite a bit, but we are hopeful that is in the past and we can remain in this area for a long, long time. Some of the great things about where we live are that I feel very safe here, we have amazing neighbors, there is a definite "community" feel here, but what I really love about being here is the schools that my children attend. The teachers are amazing and really love to teach. I know, amazing! It makes me want to cry sometimes how wonderful they have been to my children(with the exception of 1 of Abby's teachers). We are so lucky. They take time to really know the children and what will fit best for each child. One of my children is struggling and her teacher was right on top of it. She let me know and we put a few things in place for this year and next to help. I am so thankful that she was aware of my girl. So this year for Teacher Appreciation Week we did a few fun things for our GREAT teachers! One special thing we did was to make number sugar cookies. It was a FHE activity and a great way to get something made for our special teachers! The girls had such a fun time making the dough, letting it cool, rolling it out, baking and frosting the cookies. I should have taken a picture of what my counter looked like after they were done, oh my gosh! It might have been a bit embarrassing though! They had fun and that's what really matters, right?
We had number cookies(Abby took some into her math teacher), hearts(because we love our teachers) and if you notice there are clouds and rain drops(for Abby's science teacher). In science they are learning about precipitation. We had so much fun being creative and spending time together as a family! I also had the girls write little notes to their teachers to go along with the cookies. I think of all the gifts we gave this week, this was by far my favorite! I think this might become a Allen Family tradition!

We took Grandma to Six Flags...

Last weekend my Mom came to visit and to spend Easter with us(Easter post soon..). We had a great time and we loved having her here! It was good to see a familiar face. On Saturday we took her to Six Flags. We had so much fun and went on a lot of great rides! I promise everyone had fun, even if it looks like I had a few sad faces in the pictures below.:) My Mom with my girls
Molly looking at the penguins. One got right up to the glass, right in front of Molly. She loved it, and we had to pull her away from them!

Macey in front of the penguins. She also loved watching them walk around and swim!

Molly while we were waiting for Grandma, Sophia and Macey to go on a little roller coaster. Too cute not to post!

Grandma, Sophia and Macey waiting in line for front seats on the roller coaster. They got lucky and lucked out that they got to sit in the very front seat. Macey loved it and thought it was the coolest thing ever!

I don't have a ton of pictures of Abby because when I had my camera out she was riding a coaster with Rodger. She was there though and also had a ton of fun! We really had such a great day and loved having my Mom here to do this with. Come back soon Mom! We love you!

2 of my Favorite Things Right Now...

Ok, so I don't normally post with videos but I found this video and loved it! For those of you who don't know this about me, I love flash mobs! I think it would be so fun to be a part of one someday. But what I am really into right now is Ujam. About a month ago I really made a goal to loose weight so I started going to the gym. I found my Ujam class. I immediately fell in love. It's like a hip-hop dance class where you just have fun and sweat like crazy! Oh, I am in love! So, I am down 10 pounds so something must be working! I am so excited for the future and I love feeling so good!

SF Academy of Science

I can't believe it's almost been another month since my last post. Time sure seems like it is flying by! We just seem so busy, but I was thankful when spring break came around. Ahh, sleeping in, having breakfast at 10am, hanging out in jammies all day and just having a nice relaxing time. No homework or practice, no alarm to set and no schedule! I love having a break from all of that, even if it is just for a week. Can you tell how ready I am for summer break? Well, one of our days during spring break was spent at the Academy of Science in SF. My friends Sarah and Judy and their families met us there. We spent the day exploring, running around and just plain enjoying our day! The girls each had a friend that was near their age, so they had fun. It always seems to go smoother, and without fights, when they have friends with them. I am thankful for such great friends and am thankful we had the chance to go and have such a fun adventure! Waiting to go inside. The sun was in the girls eyes so it looks nice and warm, but it actually was freezing! Macey in front of the water

Molly with the baby chicks

Abby and Sophia in front of the huge egg

Molly attacking her "best buddy" Bailey

Molly and Bailey feeling the star fish

Sophia, Macey and Abby with the star fish. It looks like Abby was being the little momma and explaining something to them before they touched the star fish..so funny

This huge tank with all sorts of fish. There happened to be a diver cleaning the glass from the inside. Every time he would go to wipe a smudge, the girls thought he was waving to them..that was pretty funny too.

Molly and Bailey at the coloring table

Abby and Reagan outside the gift shop. These were their choice of souvenirs. I love Reagan's face in this picture! Abby loves these glasses and has even worn them to school! I can't believe it, but I got out of the gift shop only spending $12.50 for all 4 girls! I made them buy the cheap stuff, but they were happy and so was I!

We really had such a great time and I am so glad that we went into SF to have this fun trip, even though I was a little timid about driving into SF all by myself. I had never driven alone into the city, but it ended up being not so bad! Now, we are back to alarm clocks, homework and practices. How many days till summer break?